James Opsahl Scholarship

The James Opsahl Scholarship is created for students majoring in the WSU’s Biology program. Preference will be given to students exhibiting interest in zoology or animal ecology.

Criteria

1. Each recipient must be an undergraduate student enrolled full- time (12 credit hours) at Winona State University.
2. Each recipient must be classified as a junior, must have completed at least 40 quarter hours at Winona State University, and must be in good standing at Winona State University with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 = A).
3. Each recipient must be a declared major in Winona State University’s Biology Program and must exhibit promise in biology. Preference will be given to students exhibiting interest in zoology or animal ecology.

Biography/Motivation

James Opsahl was held in the highest regard by his colleagues and his students. Although his primary interest was teaching, he believed that his teaching must be supplemented by research which involved students. He personally paid the expenses of many students to travel to Alaska two months every summer for field study. Hard work was a standard for him. In a personal statement he wrote: “I feel that research must accompany my teaching in order to keep the teaching materials (and me) fresh. I have felt that inclusion of data still unpublished added immeasurable zest to a course, gave it a sense of timeliness.”
Dr. Opsahl left a legacy of knowledge and respect for education and research. He developed WSU’s extensive museum collections of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as a large collection of mammal skulls.